Friday, 29 May 2015

Chayote (Sechium edule) is an edible plant belonging to the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, along with melons, cucumbers and squash. Globally it is known by many names including christophene or christophine,cho-cho, pear squash, vegetable pear, chouchoute, choko, etc. Chayote is originally native to Mexico where it grows abundantly and has little commercial value. It has been introduced as a crop worldwide.

Chayote was one of the many foods introduced to Europe by early explorers, who brought back a wide assortment of botanical samples. The Age of Conquest also spread the plant south from Mexico, ultimately causing it to be integrated into the cuisine of many other Latin American nations. The chayote fruit is used in mostly cooked forms. When cooked, chayote is usually handled like summer squash, it is generally lightly cooked to retain the crisp flavour.

Though rare and often regarded as especially unpalatable and tough in texture, raw chayote may be added to salads or salsas, most often marinated with lemon or lime juice. Whether raw or cooked, chayote is a good source of vitamin C. Although most people are familiar only with the fruit as being edible, the root, stem, seeds and leaves are edible as well. The tubers of the plant are eaten like potatoes and other root vegetables, while the shoots and leaves are often consumed in salads and stir fries, especially in Asia.

Like other members of the gourd family, such as cucumbers, melons, and squash, chayote has a sprawling habit, and it should only be planted if there is plenty of room in the garden. The roots are also highly susceptible to rot, especially in containers, and the plant in general is finicky to grow. However, in Australia and New Zealand, it is an easily grown yard or garden plant, set on a chicken wire support or strung against a fence.

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Thursday, 28 May 2015

Crassula ovata, commonly known as jade plant, friendship tree, lucky plant, or money tree, is a succulent plant with small pink or white flowers. It is native to South Africa, and is common as a houseplant worldwide.As a succulent, Crassula ovata requires little water in the summer, and even less in the winter. The jade plant is a little susceptible to overwatering. C. ovata is famous for garnishing a red tinge around its leaves when grown with bright sunlight. In more extreme cases, the green colour of the plant is lost and can be replaced by yellow. This is caused by the jade plant making pigments such as carotenoids to protect from harsh sunlight and ultraviolet rays. The jade plant also does best in rich, well-draining soil. The plant also flowers in the wintertime, particularly during a cooler, darker, dry spell. C. ovata is sometimes attacked by mealybugs, a common nuisance of the succulents.As a succulent, Crassula ovata requires little water in the summer, and even less in the winter. The jade plant also does best in rich, well-draining soil. The plant also flowers in the wintertime, particularly during a cooler, darker, dry spell. C. ovata is sometimes attacked by mealybugs. It's easy to propagate, with clippings or even stray leaves which fall from the plant takign sprout. Jade plants propagate readily from both with success rates higher with cuttings. In the wild, propagation is the jade plant's main method of reproduction. Branches regularly fall off wild jade plants and these branches may root and form new plants.Like many succulents, jade plants can be propagated from just the swollen leaves which grow in pairs on the stems. While propagation methods may vary, most will follow similar steps. Typically, the wounds on the leaves are left to dry and callous over. Then the leaves are placed in or on soil. Roots begin to grow on severed leaves about 4 weeks after being removed from the stem. Environmental factors such as temperature and humidity affect the speed at which the roots and new plant develop. Foliage usually appears soon after new roots have formed.This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

Tuesday, 26 May 2015

Capsicum baccatum 'Balloon' is a very unusual pod shaped variety, which is believed to have been brought from South America to Europe by the Portuguese in the 18th century. The plants are quite large growing 90-120cm tall and produce 30 to 50 extremely weird, flat winged, wrinkled almost flying saucer like 4cm wide pods. The flesh of each pod is thin athough crisp to taste and they mature from green to red approximately 90-100 days after seedlings have emerged. The body of the pods have some detectable heat, but the wings are sweet and mild.

Thursday, 21 May 2015

Arum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to Europe, northern Africa, and western and central Asia, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean region. Frequently called "arum lilies", they are not closely related to the true lilies Lilium. Plants in the closely related tribe Zantedeschia are also called "arum lilies".

They are rhizomatous, herbaceous perennial plants growing to 20–60 cm tall, with sagittate (arrowhead-shaped) leaves 10–55 cm long. The flowers are produced in a spadix, surrounded by a 10–40 cm long, coloured spathe, which may be white, yellow, brown or purple; some species are scented, others not. The fruit is a cluster of bright orange or red berries. All parts of the plants are poisonous, containing significant amounts of calcium oxalate as raphides. The genus name is Latinised form of the Greek name for these plants, aron.

Friday, 15 May 2015

Geckos are lizards belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from 1.6 to 60 cm. Most geckos cannot blink, but they often lick their eyes to keep them clean and moist. They have a fixed lens within each iris that enlarges in darkness to let in more light.

Geckos are unique among lizards in their vocalisations. They use chirping sounds in social interactions with other geckos. They are the most species-rich group of lizards, with about 1,500 different species worldwide. The New Latin gekko and English "gecko" stem from the Indonesian-Malay gēkoq, which is imitative of the sound the animals make.

Many species are well known for their specialised toe pads that enable them to climb smooth and vertical surfaces, and even cross indoor ceilings with ease. Geckos are well-known to people who live in warm regions of the world, where several species of geckos make their home inside human habitations. These (for example the house gecko) become part of the indoor menagerie and are often welcomed, as they feed on insects, including mosquitoes. Unlike most lizards, geckos are usually nocturnal.

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Thursday, 14 May 2015

Lilium candidum (popularly known as the Madonna Lily) is a true lily in the Liliaceae family. It is native to Greece, the western Balkans and the Middle East, and naturalised in other parts of Europe (France, Italy, Ukraine, etc.) as well as in North Africa, the Canary Islands, Mexico, and other places. It forms bulbs at ground level, and unlike other lilies, has a basal rosette of leaves through the winter, which die back in summer.

A leafy flower stem, typically up to 1.2 metres high, sometimes up to 2 metres high, emerges in late spring and bears fragrant flowers in summer. Flowers are white, flushed yellow at the base. It has long been cultivated, but is susceptible to virus diseases of lilies, and to Botrytis fungus. One possible way to avoid problems with viruses is to grow plants raised from seed.

The Madonna lily is often described as being the basis of the fleur de lis, though the shape of this stylised flower more strongly resembles that of a flag iris. Madonna lilies are depicted in a fresco at the Minoan palace of Knossos. The Madonna Lily symbolises purity for Roman Catholics. Medieval depictions of the Blessed Virgin Mary often show her holding these flowers.

Wednesday, 13 May 2015

Rabbit having lunch in the Yarra Valley. In Australia, rabbits are introduced species and in the past have multiplied to numbers that are considered excessive. They compete with the native fauna and destroy the delicate balance of the environment. However, one cannot resist their charms when encountering them in such an idyllic spot...

Monday, 11 May 2015

The bluebottle fly or bottlebee (Calliphora vomitoria) is a common blow fly found in most areas of the world and is the type species for the genus Calliphora. Similar species include the greenbottle fly, a close relative that can be distinguished by its bright green metallic colouring. Bluebottle fly adults feed on nectar, while the larvae feed on carcasses of dead animals. Adults are also pollinators to some flowers with strong odour.

Thursday, 7 May 2015

Geranium is a genus of 422 species of flowering annual, biennial, and perennial plants that are commonly known as the cranesbills. They are found throughout the temperate regions of the world and the mountains of the tropics, but mostly in the eastern part of the Mediterranean region.

The long, palmately cleft leaves are broadly circular in form. The flowers have five petals and are coloured white, pink, purple or blue, often with distinctive veining. Geraniums will grow in any soil as long as it is not waterlogged. Propagation is by semi-ripe cuttings in summer, by seed, or by division in autumn or spring.

The genus name is derived from the Greek γέρανος (géranos) or γερανός (geranós) ‘crane’. The English name ‘cranesbill’ derives from the appearance of the fruit capsule of some of the species. Species in the Geranium genus have a distinctive mechanism for seed dispersal. This consists of a beak-like column which springs open when ripe and casts the seeds some distance. The fruit capsule consists of five cells, each containing one seed, joined to a column produced from the centre of the old flower.

The common name ‘cranesbill’ comes from the shape of the unsprung column, which in some species is long and looks like the bill of a crane. However, many species in this genus do not have a long beak-like column. Geraniums are eaten by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including brown-tail and mouse moth.This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

Monday, 4 May 2015

Cucumis metuliferus, horned melon or kiwano, is an annual vine in the cucumber and melon family, Cucurbitaceae. Its fruit has horn-like spines, hence the name "horned melon". Ripe fruit has yellow-orange skin and lime green, jelly-like flesh with a tart taste, and texture similar to a cucumber. C. metuliferus is native to Africa, and is now grown in California, Mississippi, Chile, Australia, and New Zealand. C. metuliferus is a traditional food plant in Africa, and has potential to improve nutrition and food security, foster rural development and support sustainable land use.

Along with the Gemsbok cucumber (Acanthosicyos naudinianus) and Tsamma (Citrillus lanatus) it is one of the few sources of water during the dry season in the Kalahari Desert. In Zimbabwe it is called gaka or gakachika, and is primarily used as a snack or salad, and rarely for decoration. It can be eaten at any stage of ripening, but when overripened, will burst forcefully to release seeds.

The fruit's taste has been compared to a combination of cucumber and zucchini or a combination of banana, cucumber and lemon. It is also said to taste like an unripe, watered-down banana. A small amount of salt or sugar can increase the flavour. Some also eat the peel, which is very rich in vitamin C and dietary fibre. The fruit can be used in cooking, but when eaten raw, most suck out the pulp and spit out the seeds.

Friday, 1 May 2015

Cornus capitata is a species of dogwood known by the common names Bentham's cornel, evergreen dogwood, Himalayan flowering dogwood, and Himalayan strawberry-tree. It is native to the low-elevation woodlands of the Himalayas in China, India, and surrounding nations and it is naturalised in parts of Australia and New Zealand. It is grown elsewhere as an ornamental.

This is an evergreen tree growing to 12 metres in height and width. The leaves are gray-green and pale and fuzzy underneath, and several centimetres long. It flowers during the summer in white blooms. The infructescence is a small aggregate of several individual fruits fused into a body 2 or 3 centimetres across. It ripens into a red, berry-like structure and is edible, but sometimes bitter. There are several varieties and hybrids.

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